Separators for separating liquid from gas are well known in the art. Separators are used, for example, to dry natural gas. The gas has liquid, such as water, entrained therein. If the natural gas is transported through pipelines in a “wet” condition, the water acts to corrode the steel pipelines, causing possible ruptures and explosions. Thus, it is desirable to economically and effectively remove the water from natural gas, and in general, to remove various types of liquids from various types of gasses.
One prior art type of separator is taught by Hill et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,855. The Hill patent teaches shaped vanes for channeling a fluid flow in a serpentine path. This path creates impact regions and sheltered regions, wherein the liquid in the fluid flow impacts the vanes and collects in the sheltered regions. Another prior art shaped separator is shown in Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,375.
The serpentine path separators typically require additional means to aid in the separation process. For example, in Regeher, U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,183, serrations are used on the vane surfaces for capturing and draining coalesced liquid. These type of separators are expensive to manufacture.
Another prior art technique uses serpentine path separators in conjunction with a fine wire mesh located at the inlet end of the vanes. The wire mesh increases the effectiveness of the separation; the fluid passes through the wire mesh before entering the vane channels and liquid coalesces on the wire mesh, dropping to the bottom of a tank containing the separator vanes.
The problem with using a wire mesh is that the mesh tends to become clogged with particulates and solids in the fluid stream. When the mesh becomes clogged or partially blocked, the overall efficiency in the separator becomes reduced.
I have invented a separator for separating liquid from gas in a fluid flow. The separator has vanes that form a serpentine path from the fluid flow. An upstream portion of the vanes has roughened surfaces in order to reduce the surface tension of liquid and allow the liquid entrained in the fluid flow to coalesce into drops that are sufficiently large so as to allow separation of the liquid from the gas.
There are some applications where my separator, by itself, does not remove all of the liquids and contaminants in the fluid stream. One such application involves relatively low pressure gas.
Low pressure gas passes through a compressor in order to boost the pressure to suitable values for transportation. Compressors are particularly susceptible to contaminants in the fluid stream. One contaminant is soap. Wells are soaped to increase the flow rate; the soap lowers the resistance of the gas. Another contaminant is salt that is produced by salt water wells. The soap and salt contaminate compressors, necessitating frequent overhauls and other maintenance. Such compressor maintenance results in down time and increased operating costs.